The Aransas Pass Police Department recognized an influx of burglaries and thefts throughout the City. Though these cases seem to be on par with numbers seen from other jurisdictions around the area, they are a noticeable increase in Aransas Pass, and an unwelcomed one at that. Furthermore, the quantity of burglaries and thefts are up from last year around this same time. We are stepping up our enforcement efforts over the next couple of weeks. The details on this effort cannot be shared at this time but we are hoping that this increased effort will help cut down on property crimes as a whole. Another effort already in place, is the deployment of cameras around town and in identified hot spots. These cameras will help catch movement and other criminal activities afoot in these areas.
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Crime Stats:
These stats are from 2/15 thru 3/12 of the respective year listed below.
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[tab_1]Burglaries: 6
Burglary Motor Vehicle: 6
Thefts: 23[/tab_1]
[tab_2]Burglaries: 14
6 – Residential & 8 – Buildings
Burglary Motor Vehicle: 10
Thefts: 31[/tab_2]
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[tab_4]Wondering how you can better protect yourself? The Aransas Pass Police Department offers these few short tips to help prevent yourself from becoming a victim and/or help you recover in the event you do become a victim of a burglary or theft related crime.
- Secure your belongings (your house, your vehicles, and loose items of value) – AP Police have found that some of the reported crimes could have otherwise been avoided had the victim locked the doors on their vehicle or house. We have found that thieves are checking doors both on homes and vehicles to see if they are unlocked, easy access is their greatest opportunity. In addition, leaving valuables in the open-bed of a pickup truck is not safe. Thieves are looking into the bed of pickup trucks, seeking out loose items of value. Lastly, if you have valuables inside your vehicle, be sure they are out of sight and/or secured while inside the vehicle; ultimately the best practice would be to not leave any items of value inside your vehicle.
- Invest in Security (Alarms and/or Video Systems) – In most cases of a burglary and theft, police rely heavily on video/picture evidence to identify and apprehend some of these criminals. Cameras have become quite common now days resulting in a reduced price to obtain. One can purchase a nice little IP camera for right around 60 to 100 dollars and have it email pictures to any email account available. AP Police have had recent success which has resulted directly from camera footage that was either captured by the victim resident and/or a neighboring resident. Alarms systems are also great, as they startle the thieves and in most cases leave the victim only with some minor damage from the intrusion. In fact, AP Officers this past weekend responded to an alarm call which actually turned out to be a burglary in progress. As a result of the alarm, the suspect’s success and victim’s loss in the crime was very limited.
- Report Suspicious Activity – Many times when the police are called in after a crime has occurred, victims and others share information about suspicious subjects or activities they observed just prior to the actual crime occurring. We understand that our residents are the experts when it comes to activities happening within their neighborhoods and/or around their businesses. As a result of this understanding, our residents’ suspicions are often very intuitive and should be followed up on by law enforcement. The AP Police officers on the street stay pretty busy most of their shift and are not always able to effect officer-initiated traffic and pedestrian stops, so your reports on suspicious activity is very important to get our officer into the areas they are needed most.
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